


Unbound

by peridoll



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 04:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18087749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peridoll/pseuds/peridoll
Summary: (Jaspidot Week Prompt 2; Favorite AU.) Peridot is a werewolf with a bad case of amnesia, and Jasper is a hunter with a particular hatred for werewolves. They form an unexpected team to unearth the mystery of Peridot’s past, but in the process, Jasper discovers dark secrets of her own.





	Unbound

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually REALLY excited to revisit this AU. This is an AU I wrote quiiiite a while ago (2016/2017) originally titled Howl, and I actually wrote like 4 chapters of it at first, but unfortunately the person I was collabing with and I broke up so I deleted it from my AO3. It's always been stuck to the back of my mind, though, and I finally decided to rework the plot and take advantage of today's prompt to jump back into it! I love me some werewolf Peridot. (I would keep the title as Howl but I'm pretty sure there's another Jaspidot fic titled that as well and I didn't want to make it seem like I was stealing their idea, cuz this AU has existed for a long ass time now ;o; So a little retitling doesn't hurt, as much as I love the original title. It may change if I figure out something better.)  
> Original song inspiration is Howl by Florence and the Machine!

“We have an issue.”

 

Jasper rolled her eyes, blowing a loose strand of bleached hair from her face. “Give it to me.”

Penny, always prim and proper with her hair tied into a tight bun and  _ always  _ dressed like it was some sort of office job, slapped a manila folder against Jasper’s broad chest. She caught it before the contents fell out and flipped it open. “There have been some general disturbances in town for the past few nights,” Penny began as Jasper sifted through a couple of photos and print-outs of news articles. “Some reported break-ins, mainly restaurants and the high school.” 

“What are we talking here? Teenage delinquent or aggressive supernatural?” They stood beneath the dim light of the warehouse entrance, but Jasper still had to squint to read the fine print of the article. Beside her, the slender woman shifted nervously. 

“Well… One word, and you’re not going to like it... werewolf.” Jasper’s head jerked, and she narrowed her eyes sharply at her coworker. The well-dressed woman held up her hands in defense. “Don’t give me that look, you know Pearl is on vacation! Otherwise I wouldn’t give this mission to you, but  _ somebody  _ has to deal with it before this gets out of hand. We don’t know if it’s dangerous or not.”

The hunter sighed deeply, rubbing her nose and adjusting her silver septum ring. “Didn’t we run the pack out of town? Why do we have a straggler?” Jasper held the photos up to the dusty yellow light, examining them as closely as possible. There were two of the aftermath of the creature’s frenzy; an alleyway wrecked with overturned trash barrels and a trail of bones and garbage, and the inside of a kitchen pantry in a similar state. The third picture was dark, but Jasper could just barely make out the outline of a massive, fuzzy creature with glowing green eyes.

“I doubt that it’s a part of a pack. There would be more reported sightings than just the one. I think what we have here is a lone wolf.” Jasper closed the folder and handed it back to Penny, and she straightened up her perfect posture. “But you never know. So be careful.”

Jasper huffed, marching further into the depths of the abandoned lumber warehouse to a line of black metal safes along the wall. The place was mostly empty in order remain inconspicuous to the public eye, though in the far back there was an entire office-like headquarters shrouded in shadows. The tall woman fiddled with the lock combination before yanking open the door, selecting a concealable handgun and loading it with a magazine filled with silver bullets. She also grabbed a sheathed machete and hooked it to her belt. 

“If it attacks me,” Jasper threatened, pointing a serious finger at Penny. “I’m killing it, no questions asked.”

She angrily swiped the modified dog catching pole, equipped with barbed wire around the loop to subdue any stubborn creatures, and stormed towards the open entrance to the warehouse. Penny followed after her, stopping her by grabbing the back of her plain black hoodie. “That’s a bad idea, Jasper, and you know it,” Penny warned, turning her nose upward and staring Jasper down with her piercing gaze. “You know how Brielle is nowadays.  _ Absolutely no killing _ , unless your life is on the line. Yardena will have your head if you kill anything. And what would Pandora think?”

Hearing that name felt like a jab to the heart, and Jasper hung her head, her thick mane of hair shrouding her scarred cheeks and mismatched eye. The claw marks raked across her face were still healing. She was still getting used to the bright yellow artificial eye implanted in her eye socket. “You don’t tell me what to do. And you don’t ever mention that name again, you got it? Now let me do my damn job.” Penny backed away, mumbling something under her breath, but Jasper elected to ignore it, putting their bickering on hold. It wasn’t worth it. And she was tired.

A nearly full moon hung high in the clear night sky, missing only a sliver as it began to wane night by night like clockwork. It made sense, Jasper supposed; a sudden werewolf appearance during a full moon. It would be hungry, worn out, and desperate to find shelter. The hunter started up her Jeep and disappeared into the inky night.

At least it was a short drive down from the warehouse. As she found a secluded spot to hide her vehicle, her phone vibrated in her back pocket. She whipped it out, checked the screen, and answered; “Hey, Lazuli.”

“Hey, listen-” her roommate started off urgently, panting and out of breath. “I’m going on a work trip so I won’t be home for a couple of weeks.” Jasper couldn’t help but notice the uncharacteristic waver in her roommate’s voice.

“Did you just run a marathon or something?” she questioned, turning off her truck’s headlights and plunging herself into darkness. Crickets chirped loudly around her. 

“No, I just- ran up the stairs.” 

“Alright.” Jasper wasn’t convinced, but with her roommate, the real answer could’ve been anything. She had learned not to question Lapis any further than necessary. “Is it an important trip? They usually give you more notice.”

“Yeah, well, duty calls. They’re down a park ranger in Maine and tourist season is in full swing. Someone has to go sweep the trails for overturned snowmobiles.” The woman snorted, and Jasper could hear shuffling in the background. “Anyway, I gotta go. See you later.” Before she could even return the farewell, Lapis hung up. Jasper glared at her phone background, a picture taken from the peak of the mountain, but attempted to soothe her short fuse. “Rude bitch…”

With a grunt of effort, Jasper heaved herself from the driver’s seat, reaching into the back and grabbing her trusty catcher’s pole. She tucked her loaded gun at the small of her back and gave the machete hanging at her hip a pat, then pulled her hood over her head and began her patrol.

The tiny town slept peacefully under the watchful eye of hunters like Jasper. Her job was to make sure nobody noticed the strange and unusual that surrounded them on a day to day basis. Though she didn’t care for the social part of the job- she let Pearl lead the weekly Supernatural Anonymous gatherings- she stayed up to date on every non-human resident in the area. There was a strict pact; if you wanted to live there, you had to behave. And if anybody stepped out of line, they were chased out of town. Oftentimes against the threat of a loaded gun, they scurried with their tails tucked between their legs, but sometimes they put up a fight. Jasper itched the right side of her face, the scars sweeping from her forehead, cutting through her eyebrow and eyelid, and reaching down to graze the corner of her lip still irritated and red. She just had the stitches removed the week prior.

 

She hoped the night would pass quickly so she could return home, though it was a shame she would be alone.

 

She stalked the town like a prowling tiger, peeking down alleyways and peering into windows of businesses for any sign of the creature. An hour slipped by, then two hours, then three- the hunter was about to give up when she spotted a foot sticking out from a bush. It was right on the edge of a woodsy playground, across the street from the high school. Jasper set an anxious hand on the grip of her gun, her other hand preparing the loop on the catcher pole. She edged closer and closer, heart beating rapidly against her ribcage. Carefully she nudged aside the wilting brush and crunchy twigs, leaning in to get a better look. The body was well hidden, however, and the hunter clicked her tongue in annoyance. Begrudgingly, she set down her pole and crouched over the bush, using both hands to clear the way. Thorns pricked her skin, and she hissed through gritted teeth. 

The body hadn’t moved yet, and Jasper suspected that maybe the creature was long dead. She knew it had to be the werewolf; tufts of dark fur lined her elbows, calves, and spine, and her feet were shaped just uncannily enough to be non-human. Even as she wrapped her arms around the creature’s limp body and dragged her from under the thorny bush, it still didn’t stir. The moonlight shone down on its face, and Jasper paused.

It was a young girl, face smudged with dirt and dried blood. Her tousled blonde hair was knotted and tangled and her bare body was scratched and bruised. The hunter let out a quick exhale of relief as the creature’s chest rose and fell, though uneven and shallow. Jasper tilted her head to the side and found the source of the blood; a tag, like the ones used on cattle, had been stabbed through the top part of her ear. A red light blinked on and off on the device. ‘ _ Who the fuck would tag a werewolf…? And why? _ ’ A lump of suspicion swelled in Jasper’s throat.

Besides that, the frail girl only wore a simple black cord with a brass key around her neck. Jasper rolled the still body onto her side, reached into her sweatshirt pocket, and pulled out a simple black pocket knife. She carefully pried at the back of the tracker tag with the blade until it popped off, then she eased it out of the creature’s ear. She stood and stomped down as hard as she could, crushing the tag beneath her combat boot with a sickening crunch. She checked to make sure the light was no longer blinking before hoisting the small-framed werewolf into her muscular arms.

Jasper trekked back to her Jeep and set the young girl’s unconscious form in the back seat, and took a moment to study her under the small roof light. ‘ _ She certainly doesn’t look like a werewolf. At least not what I was expecting _ .’ Things weren’t lining up, and an unsettling feeling wormed its way through Jasper’s veins. Her eyes locked on the ornate brass key, and, following an eerie instinct, she meticulously slipped the fraying cord over the girl’s head and stuck it into her back pocket alongside her phone. 

 

* * *

 

 

The hunter steeped in her questions like a hot cup of tea on the drive home. ‘ _ Should I bring her back to the warehouse? No, they’ll just lock her up. She’s just a fuckin’ girl- but she’s not. She’s dangerous. Why did she have a tag? I’ve never seen that before. A new tactic to keep track of packs? But who? Not us, as far as I know. Where did she come from? Why isn’t she with a pack? _ ’ She circled around and around until she became dizzy, and turned up the radio to drown out the buzzing concerns that swarmed her head. She kept a close eye on the unmoving body in the rearview mirror. With tense shoulders, Jasper braced herself, prepared for the worst. The girl could pop up at any time, bare her sharp teeth and claws and tear Jasper to shreds. Why had she put the fucking thing in her car in the first place? The hunter gripped the steering wheel tight, steaming in frustration.

‘ _ That’s it. I’ll take her home. Lapis won’t be there to question it and nobody has to know. At least not until I find out who the fuck she is.’ _

 

And so the hunter did the unspeakable; she drove her truck down the winding dirt road that led to the cabin she called home, nestled at the edge of the Roosevelt National Park as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The moon was just beginning to sneak behind the horizon, the sun rising and bringing with it a soft glow. Luckily, she didn’t have any neighbors, no prying eyes to potentially spot her as she carried the naked girl into the safety of her house. If anybody saw her, it would surely look sketchy as hell, and the last thing she needed was the cops knocking at her door at the crack of dawn.

The hunter struggled to open the door, bumping it open with her hip and tumbled over her pit bull as she rushed to the door to greet her owner. “Malachite, down!” she ordered sternly as the excitable pup leaped up, sniffing and licking at the werewolf girl’s hand. The pitbull obediently plopped her butt down on the floor, though her tail thumped against the floorboards and whined as Jasper disappeared into the living room. 

She dropped the limp body onto the couch and covered her with a blanket, then collapsed into the matching recliner chair. She wouldn’t take her eyes off the creature, she decided. With her gun balanced on her knee, she sat in complete silence, eyes glued to the rigid bundle. The clock on the wall ticked away, lulling Jasper into a risky drowsy state. The heavy bags under her eyes weighed her down, her broad shoulders slumping, and her eyelids fluttered. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, though the sun had reached the windows at the back of the cabin, casting Jasper in a silky light. She stayed vigilant, shaking away thoughts of sleep, her finger twitching against the rubber grip of her handgun. 

 

Jasper’s body was beginning to betray her. But she jolted upright when she heard the smallest of moans from the couch. The creature shifted from her facedown position, weakly lifting her head and rubbing a palm against her grimy face. Jasper stood from the chair, aiming the barrel of her gun directly at the young girl as she sat up further, the blanket falling from her bony shoulders. With steady fingers, the hunter cocked back the safety, and it  _ clicked _ . 

The werewolf’s head shot up in surprise, unnaturally bright green eyes wide. They were the same pair of eyes from the photograph, no doubt about it. She scrambled, flinging the quilt from the couch and nosediving directly into the carpet. 

“Don’t move!” Jasper barked loudly, ears ringing as adrenaline pumped through her hot veins. “This thing is loaded with silver and every single god damn bullet has your name written all over it.” The creature froze, covering her head with her hands and curling into a ball on the floor.

“Okay, okay!” she squeaked, voice raspy and dry as if she had been screaming all night. “I won’t move. Just- don’t kill me!” Jasper approached the frazzled young girl, keeping the gun trained on her until she was close enough to see how hard she trembled. Frightened, she gazed up at Jasper like wounded prey. “Who are you…?”

“I should ask you that same question,” Jasper countered, growling through clenched teeth. “Who are you? What are you doing here? Where did you come from? Why were you tagged?”

The werewolf bit down on her bottom lip, abnormally sharp teeth piercing her already bruised skin. She struggled for air, clutching her bare chest as her eyes wandered the room. “I… I don’t know. I can’t answer any of those questions.” Her innocence tugged at Jasper’s typically iron-plated heartstrings, and the hunter lowered her weapon, clicking the safety back on. Instantly, the werewolf relaxed, though her body still quaked, her jaw chattering uncontrollably. 

“Stay right there. Don’t move a muscle, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” Jasper threatened harshly, and the girl nodded. Even as she backed away towards the kitchen, Jasper’s mismatched eyes watched the creature. She pried them away only to reach into the cupboard and quickly fill a plastic cup with cold water. She brought it back to the living room and kneeled an arm’s length away from the girl, handing her the glass.

She accepted it in her quivering hands, bringing the edge to her lips and tipping it far back. “Hey,” Jasper hissed, “You’re dehydrated, don’t chug it all at once. That will only make you sick.” The young girl jerked, but heeded Jasper’s stern warning, drinking at a much slower pace until the cup was empty. She placed it down on the floor and covered her naked chest with her beaten arms again, face scrunching up. “Shit, sorry. Here.” With a huff, Jasper grabbed the blanket that had floated across the floor in the werewolf’s panic and tossed it over her frontside. 

The unnamed girl wrapped it around her malnourished body and winced. “Thanks.” 

Jasper crossed her legs together and pressed her sweaty palms against her knees, leaning in as close as she dared to. “Let’s try this again. Who are you? Give me your name, at least.”

The werewolf’s shoulders shrugged and she hung her head in defeat. “Name, name, name…” she chanted under her breath, pressing her thumbs against her temples. “Name… Nope, nothing. I have no clue.” 

Jasper groaned, running a hand down her scarred face. “Well, I have to call you  _ something _ . Just- pick a name. Any name will be fine. Unless you want me to call you runt, or pup, or-”

“No! Gag me with a spoon, please pick anything besides those!” The girl’s freakishly long tongue lolled out of her mouth as she rolled her eyes, and Jasper scoffed in return.

“This is serious. I’m not messing around. I’m trying to figure out why you suddenly showed up out of nowhere and why you’re covered in blood.” The hunter scanned the room, humming in concentration. Her eyes flitted to her roommate’s collection of gemstones and minerals that lined the fireplace, and she settled on a small chunk of transparent green. She snapped her fingers. “Peridot. Because your eyes are green. There, is that okay?”

The intensity of the werewolf’s eyes had faded to a pale mint color, but Jasper’s point still stood. “Sure, rad.” 

“Great. Next question; why were you tagged? Where did you come from?” Jasper’s unwavering gaze remained grim as she continued on, and the dirt-coated girl squirmed uncomfortably. 

“What… do you mean…?” she hesitated to say, her fragile voice cracking. 

“I mean I found you in a bush unconscious with a tracking tag in your ear. That’s not anything I’ve seen around these parts. So where were you? Who wanted to track you?”

The creature-  _ Peridot _ \- delicately touched her crusted and bloody ear, seeming to just then notice the searing pain from the wound. “I-I don’t know. I can’t remember anything, I told you that already-”

“This isn’t a fucking joke,  _ runt _ . I have a bad feeling about this entire situation and I  _ need  _ you to tell me anything you can-” 

“Okay, just give me a second-”

“I don’t have a second to give you-”

“ _ I SAID OKAY! _ ” Peridot snapped, a disembodied growl echoing through the entire log cabin. Jasper startled, holding up her hands in defense. “Just let me think, will you?!”

Jasper inhaled and exhaled slowly, extinguishing her flaring temper. “Fine. Go ahead.”

The werewolf spun the blanket around on her shoulders to free her legs and arms, pressing her dirty palms into the textured rug. She squeezed her eyes shut, chest rising and falling with every thoughtful breath. “There were… other people. In… doctor coats? Lab coats maybe, white coats of some kind. I remember being in a small cage, barely enough room to stand. And there were… others there, too. But I was stabbed with a lot of needles every day and everything was always really blurry. I… I had glasses at one point. I don’t know where they went. Crap, do I need glasses? Am I blind?” Peridot held her own hands up to her face, squinting at the tips of her fingers, and Jasper noticed the track marks and puncture holes lining her wrists and forearms. She clapped to catch the werewolf’s attention. 

“Okay, what else? Where were you? What did your surroundings look like?” the hunter urged.

“Right, uh- there weren’t any windows. I didn’t go outside for… I don’t know how long. But then I was being driven somewhere. It was dark but it felt like I was in the back of a van. And then I wasn’t, and I was under the moon, and…” The petite girl crumpled into a ball, digging her jagged fingernails deep into her skin and leaving crescent-shaped marks. “It… hurt… It usually doesn’t hurt that much, but this time I could feel every bone in my body shifting…” She jolted unexpectedly, muscles spasming as she let out a pained cry. Jasper’s hand hovered over the handgun that she had placed beside her, anticipating the worst. But instead of attacking, the young girl merely broke down into tears, sobs wracking her brittle frame. 

A familiar, soothing voice echoed from the back of Jasper’s mind; ‘ _ Just be gentle. You don’t have to be so bullish all the time, you know. _ ’ The hunter smoothed back her thick hair, picking her next words wisely. “Okay, that’s enough. You don’t have to think about it anymore,” she tried, side-eyeing the trembling creature. “What about you? Do you remember anything before all of that shit? Like… how old are you, what’s your favorite color, where are you from?” 

Peridot used the quilt to wipe away her tears, simultaneously smearing dirt across her soiled face. She sniffled pathetically, minty eyes bloodshot as she averted her quivering gaze. “Um… I was 19 when I was turned- no, 20. Maybe 21…? Somewhere around there.” She waved a dismissive hand, wrapping the ruined blanket around herself even tighter. “I like neons and greens, mostly. And… I wanna say… 1987…? That year sticks out in my mind. That sounds about right.”

“What happened in 1987?” Jasper pried gently, sliding the handgun behind her back and out of sight. 

Peridot snorted, motioning to herself with a grimy hand. “You know! This… This whole  _ thing _ . The whole werewolf thing? You seriously don’t know anything about werewolves, do you?”

“It’s a subject I avoid like the plague,” Jasper answered honestly, and the wolf shrunk a bit. 

“Oh, sorry. It’s not like it’s a disease or anything. I can’t  _ give  _ it to you unless I bite you. And I don’t bite.” The girl flashed her oversized canines, but when Jasper only frowned in return, she pouted. “It was a joke, dweeb.”

Jasper shook her head, discolored eyes narrowing. “What did you just call me?”

“Nothing. Hey, can I ask you a question now? You’ve been grilling me this entire time, I want a shot at it.” Her pale eyes twinkled innocently, and Jasper snarled. 

“Fine, go ahead,” she grumbled through her teeth. ‘ _ I’m trying to be patient, I hope you can see that. _ ’ 

“First off, what’s  _ your  _ name?” 

“Jasper.”

“ _ Jasper… _ ” Peridot scooted towards the hunter, squinting to examine Jasper’s face closer. The hunter shied away, every fiber of her being telling her to get away, a sick feeling twisting her gut. “This is the elephant in the room, so… What happened to your…?” The young girl traced along her own cheek to mimic the scars slashed across Jasper’s face. 

“Werewolves,” Jasper replied shortly, a sharp pang of remorse stabbing into her gnarled stomach. Their eyes locked, and Jasper spotted the subtle way Peridot’s pupils constricted. The larger woman was the first one to tear away from their shared trance, running a hand through her hair again, combing through a few flyaways with her calloused fingers.

“I’m sorry, that’s harsh…” Peridot assured halfheartedly, worrying her cracked bottom lip between her sharp teeth. 

“It’s not like it’s your fault. Don’t apologize. It’s not like I died.” ‘ _ I should’ve died in her place. _ ’ The hunter, growing peculiarly comfortable with a creature she wouldn’t hesitate to kill, leaned back on her hands and stretched out her legs. There was something non-threatening about the young girl. She didn’t  _ seem  _ like a werewolf. If Jasper didn’t know any better, she wouldn’t even be able to guess. But she  _ was _ , so even as she cracked her neck and massaged her sore shoulder, Jasper remained guarded, always keeping her bright yellow eye on the wolf.

“What about the eye? That’s pretty cool, at least. Was that your choice?” Peridot offered playfully, doing an oddly good job at lightening the tense mood. 

“Not really. I was just given whatever she had on hand. I couldn’t exactly window shop for a new eyeball.” The werewolf’s muddy cheeks puffed up as she held back a laugh. 

“For a hunter, you’re actually not half-bad. I’ve never encountered one of you myself, but I’ve heard some horror stories,” Peridot babbled, but Jasper’s mind had wandered after a spiraling thought. She suddenly sat up straight, spooking the wolf creature.

“Peridot, what year is it?” Jasper asked gravely.

The girl snorted, shrugging her shoulders, and stated matter-of-factly; “It’s 2010. Well- maybe 2011 by now, I really don’t know how much time has passed. Maybe a few months?”

Jasper thrummed her fingers against the carpet, sighing audibly. “Oh boy.” She hoisted herself to her feet with a grunt of effort and strutted to the kitchen counter, grabbing the hanging yearly calendar that was plastered with different photos of the National Park. She flipped it shut, stomping back over to Peridot in her heavy combat boots. The hunter dropped the calendar to the floor in front of the wolf face-up, and she blinked in bewilderment. 

“2020…? You’re joking, right? That’s not funny, Jasper.” The young girl’s face wrinkled in disgust as she shoved the calendar to the side. 

“Why would I lie about that? It’s been ten years, Peridot. It’s 2020.” Jasper crouched in front of her new companion, closer than before, resting her elbows on one propped up knee. The werewolf started to shake like a leaf again, and Jasper held up a hand. “Relax, don’t start that again.” 

“How are you so calm?! I don’t remember ten years of my life!  _ Whoosh _ , like that! Out the door!” The wolf’s voice crackled like fresh firewood as it rose in volume, and Jasper hushed her viciously.

“Calm down, runt!” the hunter barked in response. “Don’t fuckin’ freak out again, I’m not gonna play babysitter.” 

This seemed to snap Peridot out of her panicked daze, and she instead crinkled up her nose in revulsion. “I’m an adult! I’ve been alive longer than you by an easy thirty years!” The girl abruptly grabbed her head, pressing her palms against her ears. She let out a yelp of agony, and Jasper recoiled, instinctively reaching for her firearm again. “2010… I was in… I was in Salem. Yeah, yeah- I was in Salem! It was October because I remember all of the Halloween decorations.” 

Jasper perked up, quirking an eyebrow. “Salem? In the South, you mean?” 

Peridot writhed for a moment longer before the spasms of pain ebbed, leaving her breathless and keeled over on the floor. “South? No. Massachusetts, dweeb. That’s where we are, isn’t it…?” 

Their eyes met, and Jasper shook her head slowly. “I hate to break it to you but…” Guilt punched her churning stomach as she witnessed Peridot’s disintegrating expression, her eyes wide, so very innocent, and filled to the brim with dread. “You’re a long way from home. We’re in North Dakota.”


End file.
